CTTC honours long serving Coach Operators

At the gala-dinner that was held in conjunction with the Coach & Bus Show 2023 at the RDS, Dublin, the Coach Tourism & Transport Council (CTTC) honoured three long serving members and operators who have almost 200 years’ experience between them. Special tributes and presentations were made by CTTC Chairman John Halpenny to Dick Martin, Martin’s Coaches; Brian Lynch, Suirway Coaches and Paddy Slevin, Slevins Coaches.

Looking back over his time, Dick commented: “The way the bus business operates now and the way it did when I started are so different, with so many changes, some good and some bad. One thing hasn’t changed though is that although passengers can be more demanding, it’s still a people business”. A recognition of the service provided by Martin’s is that it has retained some of its customers from the very early days. Work nowadays comes from a broad base, including school services and trips, private hire and extended tours, with the family firm now operating from a purpose-built premises in the Annacotty Business Park.

B RIAN LYNCH - S UIRWAY COACHES

Dick Martin was born in Limerick but grew up in Chicago. In the early 1970s, he returned to the Mid-West and started to work in the Ferenka plant in Annacotty. Shortly afterwards he and his wife Eileen bought their first bus, a Leyland Harrington with 41 seats. In the early days Dick and his bus were busy with Bingo runs, private hire and some school trips. Before long a Bedford Duple Viceroy was added to the fleet. Dick managed to get some solid business in the Limerick City area and took advantage of the growth at Shannon Airport and his American connections to expand the company.

Over the last fifty years, Martin’s Coaches has grown significantly, operating over twenty buses. Although Dick and Eileen have taken a back seat, handing the day to day running of their business to their sons, Paddy and William, Dick is never far away from the action, ready to jump in when needed.

Suirway Coaches, Waterford, boasted a proud heritage. Established in 1899 by Richard Flynn, Suirway was always regarded as being ahead of the curve. With foundations built solidly in what is described as the ‘Suir Delta’, the city of Waterford and the hinterland of the city and the river were the company’s core market for 123 years. A solid base established on local commuter traffic and incoming corporate visitors, and, of course, some private hire.

However Covid hit Suirway hard, with the result that the company made the decision to cease trading as of October 2022. Its commuter business was decimated, as most people were forced to work from home and with the travel ban all corporate work had stopped. As an accountant and Managing Director, Brian could see no future in Suirway Coaches trading on, as its niche markets had been damaged beyond repair. However unlike many others, they were leaving the sector in a dignified manner with their heads held high. Brian said they were of course delighted to receive this accolade at the CTTC event and noted that it is a good sign of recognition of the standard the organisation expects operators to maintain in the industry or even when exiting it.

Paddy Levin started off with a Volkswagen Microbus, (Minibus) in 1977. At the time he was working in what was known as the P&T (nowadays Eir) but ran out of space in the back of his minibus for the locals he was bringing to work in Mullingar and decided to establish a commuter service. It took off and the business progressed to a Ford Transit and by 1979 a 53-seater Ford Plaxton, This established Paddy and his wife Sheila firmly in the bus business, with the bulk of the daily runs in the early days covering Bingo, Disco and Private Hire contracts.

Lke all operators there are the same challenges, such as the cost of fuel, driver recruitment, etc but Paddy always prefers to focus on the positive. “We are located close to Dublin and all the nearer now with the motorway system, so it opens new markets to us,” he stated.

Slevins has come a long way since buying the first minibus. Its work is varied with a broad base providing some security. Its contract work includes school services, HSE Clinic transfers and more recently extended tours along with providing transport to the Westmeath GAA. With Paddy and Sheila now regarding themselves as semi-retired, the operation continues to grow in the safe hands of their daughter, Celine and sons Martin and Declan.

Text: Sean Murtagh - sean@fleet.ie

EVM, the Kilbeggan, County Westmeath based passenger transport conversion and supply specialist, is to distribute the Anadolu Isuzu range of buses and coaches in Ireland. This new partnership follows EVM acquiring the agency for the Turkish brand in the UK in June 2022.

EVM Direct commenced sales of the Anadolu Isuzu coach range in RHD in the UK market with the 39-passenger Visigo, sold under the AOS brand. In November the company added the 35-seat and 37-seat AOS Grand Toro coach to the line-up. Both models are already proving popular with UK operators, with numerous new orders being made to the

EVM - New Anadolu Isuzu main distributor in Ireland

factory in Turkey.

Anadolu Isuzu, is one of the leading commercial vehicle manufacturers in Turkey, and continues to strengthen its sales and service network in international markets. It is looking to the Irish market for increased sales figures and a wider customer base with the appointment of EVM Direct Ireland, as its national distributor.

“From the moment I initially visited Anadolu Isuzu in Turkey, I recognised this was a high-quality, high-volume manufacturer with a focus on technical precision, and this approach fits in with EVM’s vision for all of our product range. With EVM Direct Ireland having a premises, existing infrastructure and relationships with the Irish market, it seemed like a natural progression for us to expand our distribution with Anadolu Isuzu into Ireland. We’ve already had great success with the Visigo product with a number of units already working in the UK for the last few months and have already agreed multiple sales of the Grand Toro 35/37 with the first units just starting to be delivered. Customer feedback and reactions have been great to the products and we expect much more success moving forward,” stated Danny McGee, Managing Director, EVM Direct UK & Ireland.

“As Anadolu Isuzu, we have recently reached significant momentum in international markets with our medium-size coach and bus models that fully meet the needs of modern municipalities and transportation/tour operators. With our sustainability-first approach, the vehicles we produce in our production facilities with smart factory features serve in the transportation sector in 45 countries in the world as of today. Each year, our environmentally friendly, low-emission, modern and safe vehicles are preferred more and more in European cities. I am very pleased with the success we have already achieved with EVM UK and that we have now signed a distributorship agreement with EVM Ireland. I strongly believe that we will achieve great success with EVM in Ireland as we have done in the UK, which we know is one of the most demanding markets in Europe. With our tailor-made production capability, we strive to fully meet the demands and needs of our customers, and we attach great importance to their satisfaction,” added Tugrul Arikan, General Manager of Anadolu Isuzu.

Text: Jarlath Sweeney - editor@fleet.ie great success, often inspired by large American cars in style and design. From the beginning, Van Hool strove for his products to have their own identity and design. He quickly learned the meaning of flexibility. He understood that, when building chassis, in order to work efficiently he would have to develop a basic model, but customers could still add their personal touch to their coaches.

2023 marks another special milestone for Van Hool NV, as the Belgian family-owned coachbuilder and manufacturer of buses, coaches, trolleybuses, and semi-trailers celebrates the 75th Anniversary of its foundation.

Due to a decline in the market in the early fifties, Van Hool went to the Belgian Congo in search of business opportunities, which led to the first Van Hool coach bodies being shipped to Leopoldville in 1954. It was also the opportunity for later activities in other African countries.

From the beginning, the Netherlands was an important market, with the first coach bodies delivered there. Over time

Van Hool celebrates 75th anniversary

supply of engines and other mechanical parts (gearboxes, axles and steering wheels). With that Van Hool developed from a coachbuilder into a fully-fledged

It all began with Bernard Van Hool, who felt the pull of mechanics, construction and electricity at an early age. He was fascinated not only by maintaining machines, but most of all by coming up with smarter and newer ways of using them. Having already created a diamond grinding mill and an egg incubating machine, WWII proved the catalyst for him to reinvent himself as he saw the need for suitable vehicles to transport materials for reconstruction. His aim was to build infrastructure including bridges and roads, and so he ended up converting an old coach into a means of transport. The result was the first coach “De Trekvogel” (Bird of Passage).

When the company started, there were 22 employees and 6 family members. The first coaches were a it came to be regarded as a true home market. The early years up to 1956 also saw the construction of a new factory on the other side of the road to the original site, and that year also recorded the delivery of the 1,000th Van Hool coach body, with almost 500 coaches built.

On 15 February 1957, a commercial agreement was signed with Fiat for the

Belgian manufacturer of self-supporting buses and coaches, which bore the brand name Van Hool-Fiat. In 1961, Catrabel NV was founded, which would later lead, in 1965, to the start of industrial vehicle manufacturing. That same year, a new building complex was erected for the after-sales service (established in 1957), with warehouses and repair workshops for servicing. In 1965, the first coaches were built for the UK market.

This era saw the emergence of long-distance tourism, supported by the ever-expanding European motorway network, and this brought about an important evolution: the manufacture of sophisticated vehicles designed for mass tourism and maximum profitability.

Into the Seventies, Van Hool continued to expand. July 1974 saw the laying of the foundation stone of the new I.V. factory. On 1 January 1976, De Misstraat was renamed Bernard Van Hoolstraat, a tribute by the municipal council of Koningshooikt to its late founder who had passed away in 1974. That same Van Hool presented its first integral city bus, the A120, with a versatile drivetrain offering. The new coachwork line for the Alizée coach range was presented at the Paris Salon. modest beginning in 1987 for what would later become a success story, following an agreement signed with ABC Bus Companies, Inc. of Florida for the exclusive distribution of Van Hool coaches in the USA.

A new integral coach was officially introduced at the Brussels Salon in 1979 - the T8, with Alizée design. The T8 Acron became Van Hool’s best-selling coach ever and is still praised today for its reliability, driving qualities and economic operating results. Van Hool then introduced its AG280 articulated bus, which was based on the A120. Van Hool soon launched its midi buses AU141 and AU138. Together with the AG280, these buses formed the basis for the future development of the low-floor concept. Its export business began to expand from then on.

Most of the buses and coaches were built entirely by Van Hool, with engines and axles sourced from Caterpillar, Cummins, DAF (PACCAR) and MAN and gearboxes from ZF or Voith.

In the mid-80s the first airport bus was delivered to Belgian national carrier Sabena. Today hundreds operate at dozens of airports around the world. Van Hool achieved an entry in the Guinness Book of Records with its 18 m long articulated “Jumbulance”, the largest ambulance in the world, built for the British charity ACROSS.

A new 6,000 m³ facility for the production of under-frames of the integral vehicles was set up, as was a 4,000 m³ building for finishing and production administration. The A300 low-floor bus arrived at the UITP exhibition in Stockholm. From 1997, Van Hool developed a number of buses with alternative energy sources: a hybrid bus, a bimodal trolleybus and a natural gas bus. The base model of the new T9 coach range was premiered at the Kortrijk Salon in 1995.

History was made in 2005 when the most advanced hydrogen-powered bus to date was presented to the American public, the first full-fledged hybrid bus the newest and shortest model in the EX range; the fuel cell-powered Exqui.City, and the electric CX45E for the American market.

The A500 low-floor bus was launched at the 1985 Brussels UITP exhibition. Van Hool was the first manufacturer to succeed in building a bus with a completely low floor over the vehicle’s entire length. The first 10 integral T8 coaches were shipped to the USA, a

(hydrogen-electric) to recover braking energy. A new range of diesel-hybrid buses debuted at the UITP in Vienna: a midibus (A308Hyb), a standard bus (A300Hyb), and an articulated bus (AG300Hyb). On the occasion of the UITP World Congress in Dubai, Van Hool presented the ExquiCity, a vehicle that combines the shape of a tram with the flexibility of a bus. Busworld 2011 in Kortrijk was the occasion to introduce the TX, a completely new range of coaches. In 2012, as Van Hool celebrated its 65th anniversary, the first stone was laid on the site of the new Van Hool Macedonia bus factory.

From 2015 Van Hool started building a new type of ‘standardised’ coach in Macedonia for Europe and new markets called the ‘EX’. Across the Atlantic, Van Hool laid out plans to build a factory in Morristown, Tennessee, USA, producing around 400 buses a year for the North American public transport market. At Busworld Europe 2019, Van Hool presented three world premieres - EX11,

During the global pandemic, Van Hool offered air purification systems in all their vehicles, the so-called CAPS system (Clean Air Purifying System).

More recently, last year, Van Hool launched a completely new line, the new T series, positioned between the EX and TDX series. There are four main themes in the new coach development: aerodynamics, comfort, design and safety.

Van H Ool In I Reland

Over the decades Van Hool has enjoyed a personal relationship with Irish coach operators. It all began half a century ago when Ford dealer and coach operator, Maurice Jackson from Cavan became its first Irish customer. In the following years, in a co-production partnership with McArdles, an assembly plant was established in Dublin, from where coaches and buses for the Irish and UK markets were manufactured, with the CIE Group its biggest customer.

Sadly this facility closed in the early ‘seventies but the fondness for Van Hool products continued to strengthen, mainly due to their quality build, reliability and longevity. Around that time, a new dealer and distributor was appointed, Dermot Cronin from Cork. Today, Cronin’s of Cork is the name for Van Hool in Ireland. The Cronin Group itself operates one of the largest fleets of luxury coaches in Ireland, offering an ideal shop window and mobile showcase for Van Hool.

In recent times, Van Hool has made inroads with its tanker trailers products, with sales to many prominent Irish hauliers.

In 1988, a Van Hool Alizee rolled off the production line in Belgium to begin 35 years of unbroken service as a tour coach, inter-city service provider and commuter bus. It now takes on a new life as a motorsport support vehicle. Rally enthusiast and mechanic, Mick Reddy rescued this coach and has transformed it into a mobile motorhome that will hopefully be seen at the stages for many years to come.

Visitors to the CTTC Coach & Bus Show last November will have seen this tastefully converted and restored Van Hool Alizee. For a time, Mike had hoped to convert a truck to bring his rally cars to events. When a friend at Martin’s Coaches suggested he use a coach just taken out of service, he was at first a little hesitant, but eventually came around to the idea. Mike always knew it would be a challenge, but as the pictures show, it was a project that has proven well worthwhile.